A really nice price for a blended big red. Sam Tannahill and Cheryl Francis really know winemaking, and have pulled together fruit from the warm Southern Oregon wine regions with well demonstrated skill.
The wine has a aturated royal purple color with garnet highlights. A complex nose of cassis, white pepper, graphite, blackberries, ripe blueberries, plums, smoke, minerals, pencil shavings and tar lifts from the glass immediately. Aromas of exotic spices, cedar, violets, black cherries and a hint of truffles give complexity and depth. The attack is sweet, broad, ripe and lush. The flavors mirror the aromatics with dark fruits predominating and ripe tannins giving backbone and focus to the fruit. A concentrated succulent mid-palette glides effortlessly to the elegant, long finish. - the winery
A great value, the 2003 A to Z Claret is a blend of six different varieties (33% Cabernet Franc, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 15% Syrah, 1% Grenache and 1% Malbec) from several Southern Oregon vineyards. The wine was aged for 20 months in 100% French Oak of which 50% was new. The blend was refined by A to Z over the long spring and bottled in late July, 2005. This is a great example of the 2003 vintage in Southern Oregon and a strong indication of potential from a new region in Oregon bursting with interesting vineyards. Bottled exclusively in screw top bottles
Detailed Info, Previous Vintage Notes, Reviews:
The 2003 vintage was the most interesting harvest since 1997. The growing season can be summed up with one word: hot and abundant. The Bordeaux and Rhone varieties thrived and ripened completely although the higher elevations and older vine vineyards ripened a bit more slowly. The clusters were perfect with beautiful ripe fruit aromatics combined with deeper black fruits. The slight dehydration of the grapes allowed for a concentration of flavor and most importantly ripe soft structure that made for a tremendous vintage.
